A Battle to Win
by E.G. Potter
Summary: "The longer she kissed me and didn't give up, the less I resisted and before I knew it, I was kissing her back. I was kissing Luna Lovegood in the middle of the Final Battle." Written for thegoodgirldoll's Confession Challenge on HPFC.


In a word, I was terrified.

I had never set out for this to be "my war," but that was what it had become. After my father had failed, I hadn't really had a choice: It was my war, and it was happening.

I watched people fall left and right; I wasn't safe anywhere. I knew that if I went out there, out past the castle walls, that I would be dead meat. I would be forced to fight, and that was something I didn't want. I might have lost most of everything I knew about myself in the past year, but I knew that I was a coward.

So there I sat, in a dark corridor in a forgotten wing of the castle, nursing my left arm where the Dark Mark was burning my skin.

"Draco?" My head shot up. The voice was cool, even-tempered, and female. For some reason, it didn't frighten me the way most things had since the fighting had begun. I tried to wipe away the tears that stained my face. No girl was seeing me cry. I was a coward, not a sissy.

"I thought that was you," she continued as she approached me. Before I knew it, I was looking up into the stormy blue eyes of none other than Luna Lovegood, who had, until Potter had been the hero yet again, been locked up in my basement. My face flushed with shame. I'd done little to help her while she had been there.

"How did you find me?" I spat venomously.

She shrugged. "I just had a feeling I'd find you here." She studied me. "The Wrackspusrts have certainly gotten ahold of you this evening."

"The _whats?" _I asked.

"The Wrackspurts."

"Go away, Luna. Let me suffer in peace."

"Is that what you're doing then?" The infernal woman sat down beside me. "I'll admit, I was a bit curious as to why you were here and not out there." She gestured vaguely toward the fight in the courtyard. I turned away from her.

"Are you scared, Draco?" She asked quietly.

What did I have to lose? "Yes." My voice was barely a whisper.

"It's your life, you know. Not theirs," she said, her voice light.

I bit back a laugh, turning away from her. "It doesn't make a difference whose life it is, they still control me!"

A moment of semi-silence. The shouts from the broken windows could still be heard.

Then she spoke: "If they're in control of you, then why are you here and not there?" Again, she gestured vaguely toward the fight.

I stood, anger getting the better of me, and yelled, "Stop mentioning it!"

It echoed in the vast hallway, my own voice ringing in my ears.

"I came to give you an option," she said after a few minutes. "For when this is all over."

I didn't even have a snide remark about Potter, that's how scared I was, that's how much of myself had been lost. There was some part of me, very deep down, that I could tell wanted him to win, if only so that I could live a normal life.

"An option?" My voice was hollow. I could hear the weariness and strain. We were teenagers. We shouldn't have been dealing with war and life and death and bloody _options. _I just wanted to live my life.

"Yes, an option," she said, standing and pushing her long, dirty blonde hair out of her face. There were small cuts on her face from what she had already seen of the battle. She should have been a Gryffindor instead.

"What kind of option can a blood traitor like you have to offer me?" I tried to put on my best front, to act like the high and mighty Draco Malfoy still existed. But we both knew that I wasn't fooling anyone. Any way this war ended up, my family would have a lot of rebuilding to do. I was at anyone's mercy.

"I can offer you a life you've been too afraid to dream of, Draco," she said softly. And then she was mere centimeters from me, her face dangerously close to mine. She smelled like flowers, and sunshine, and hope. My back hit the wall; I was trapped. And then she kissed me.

I was tense at first, but her lips were soft and gentle. My hand found its way to her hair, which was just as soft. The longer she kissed me and didn't give up, the less I resisted and before I knew it, I was kissing her back. I was kissing Luna Lovegood in the middle of the Final Battle. This crossed so many lines!

She pulled away after a couple of minutes, a self-satisfied smile gracing her face. "I've been wanting to do that for six years," she said.

I spluttered.

"Remember Draco, it's your life," she said, kissed me again, and then walked away, out of sight, and to the battle, which was now ours to fight to the very end.

I had options; I had hope; I had a battle to win.

* * *

(A/N:

Word count: 854

Written for thegoodgirldoll's Confession Challenge on HPFC.

I need to go to bed, seeing as it's almost 4 AM. But I want to post this for you first. I may continue this, it all depends on your feedback. So let me know what you think! :) All my love.)


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